Black Magic

This can be played 1on1 and multiplayer, but it is tweaked a little bit more for 1on1. Some multiplayer cards are in the sideboard.

Main Strategy:

1. Gain Mana fast and finish with Consume Spirit/Exsanguinate unless the creatures did the job first. Creatures are just utility though.
2. Disrupt the enemy until he can be finished. Sangromancer supports this very nicely.
   2a. Let the enemy sacrifice creatures or weaken/destroy creatures again and again. This works well with Lethal Vapors.
   2b. Let the enemy discard as soon as possible. This works well with Painful Quandary.
3. Keep a full hand: Pay life for drawing cards and gain life to compensate. Don't be afraid to draw more cards and discard/exile weaker cards.

As gaining mana simply depends on lands and is supported a little bit by Dark Ritual and Sol Ring, the main goal is to disrupt and engage the enemy by using the versatility of the deck (which is only successful with a full hand to give you the choice to pick the best cards).

Sub Strategies:

• Give a shit on your life counter. Use Necropotence and Griselbrand to their full extent. Be careful against red and keep a buffer of >=5 life then.
• Disrupt the enemy before improving yourself, i.e. Hymn to Tourach > Sign in Blood on yourself
• Always play Hypnotic Specter or Necropotence in turn 1 if possible (Swamp + Dark Ritual + spell).
• Play Specter before Sangromancer to profit twice from the discard effect.
• Play removal/discard after Sangromancer if possible but don't wait for Sangromancer; the general disruption is more important than the lifegain!
• Sangromancer and Massacre Wurm love weenies and mass removal.
• Play the enchantments as soon as possible:
  Necropotence: Keep a full hand with 6 spells and 1 land.
  Lethal Vapors: You don't need strong creatures or creatures at all, as long as the enemy cannot play creatures and you can remove his creatures.
• Play Sign in Blood on yourself if Necropotence is not available yet, play it on the enemy and let a Hymn to Tourach follow if Sangromancer is out and the enemy has less than 2 cards. Discard that card otherwise or use it as cheap 2 CMC for 2 damage to finish off the enemy.
• Don't level up Guul Draz Assassin early game unless the mana would go to waste. Enjoy the enemy's fear of that card.
• Combo Vampire Nocturnus + Necropotence: Keep your Vampires strong throughout the game and know what card Necropotence would draw.
• Combo Vampire Nocturnus + Liliana's land fetch or Sign in Blood. If the top card isn't black, do it in Main 1, otherwise in Main 2.
• Play Liliana's -6 ability as soon as possible. Don't care if she dies that way.
• Don't play Liliana's -3 ability with 3 loyalty counters, unless you are going to die otherwise.
• Don't care about Hypnotic Specter and Guul Draz Vampire if the enemy has Weenies of higher value. Destroy them all with Consume the Meek. Try to play Consume the Meek in the enemy's turn or at least after your attack.
• Destroy your own creatures if the enemy controls them and if he exiles them and you know that Sheoldred is going to happen and if there are enough removals left for the enemy until Sheldred arrives.
• Don't play Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth too soon if the enemy plays multicolor with black.
• Play Urborg to use Sheoldred's Swampwalk ability and especially to increase the usage of Cabal Coffers and Reliquary Tower/Boseiju Who Shelters All.
• Play Cabal Coffers after 3 Swamps. Don't play other lands before 3 Swamps unless this isn't possible.
• Pay Cabal Coffers with Sol Ring.
• Mulligan until the hand contains 2 Swamps and ideally Dark Ritual + Hypnotic Specter/Necropotence for turn 1 and/or Sol Ring + some CC4 creature for turn 2.
• Consume Spirit is too expensive unless you really need life or a removal, so keep one card until the end and discard or waste 1-2 copies if needed. It is the worst removal and your finisher. Play it after your last attack.
• Tutor for Lands and Removal

Sideboard options:

• Against blue: exchange one Swamp or Reliquary Tower with Boseiju, Who Shelters All. Don't dare to play the finishing Consume Spirit without Boseiju against blue!
• Against white: use Gloom (instead of Sword of Fire and Ice) and Black Knight.
• Against massive hordes and artifacts: Play Nevinyrral's Disk
• Multiplayer: exchange Consume Spirit with Exsanguinate

The other sideboard cards are not final; you should replace 1on1 cards with multiplayer cards, e.g. with "each player sacrifices a creature" and "each opponent discards a card effects" etc.